DSWD wants P12-B from AKAP funds to be exempt from election spending ban
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has asked for an exemption of another P12 billion worth of Ayuda Para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) funds from the election spending ban in line with the upcoming May elections.
During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development on Monday, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia disclosed that he received a letter from DSWD asking for an exemption of P12.663 billion in AKAP funds from the election ban.
The amount was apart from the P882 million granted exemption by the Comelec earlier.
“The first request involving AKAP… only involved P882 million. But on Jan. 16, 2025, another letter was received by yours truly, this time, this is a supplement to the original request again containing a request for exemption of AKAP, and the amount this time is P12,663,600,000,” Garcia told the Senate panel.
Garcia said he has not yet taken action on DSWD’s request as the agency has not yet provided Comelec with the implementation guidelines for AKAP.
“As of this time, I have not acted on such a request simply because I’m waiting for the guidelines as committed… I cannot act on the second request until and unless there is that guidelines issued by the DSWD,” the poll chief said.
The implementation guidelines were among the conditions given by Comelec in granting the DSWD’s first exemption request.
Meanwhile, former Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said his group, opposition coalition 1Sambayan, urged DSWD to upload on its website the list of AKAP beneficiaries
and the actual amount they received, as well as the names of the persons who recommended them (beneficiaries).
“Maybe the DSWD can publish it online before the actual distribution,” he said.
He noted that in India, where a similar program was being implemented, when the names of beneficiaries and the amounts were published, those whose names appeared complained that they did not receive the actual amount.
“So to avoid that from happening, let us publish the names with the corresponding amount that they received and also the names of the officials or persons who recommended them. Because if it turns out that only members of Congress recommended (them), that would violate the prohibition that congressmen can only appropriate but cannot implement because the implementation belongs to the Executive branch.
That’s the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) case,” Carpio said during the same hearing.
“Now maybe if 25 or 30 percent of those who recommenced were members of Congress and the rest (were) local officials and civil society people, that would be okay. But if the overwhelming people who recommended were from Congress, I think we have something wrong there,” he added.
“So that everybody will be assured that this is above board, let us just publish the names. Anyway, there’s nothing confidential about publishing the names and the amount of tax money that was given and the names of (those) who recommended. These are public funds. The Constitution says there is right to information by the people on matters of public concern. And of course the number one concern of the public is how their tax money are disbursed,” the former justice explained.
During the same hearing, it became apparent that the DSWD, Department of Labor and Employment, and the National Economic and Development Authority failed to provide a list of individuals who could benefit from AKAP.
Read: Sen. Marcos chides gov’t execs over lack of AKAP beneficiaries’ list
